David Ascher wrote:
> Would anyone else like it if the mechanism used for configuring a
> Quixote file could be used both for Quixote itself and for
> application-specific details?
>
> Put differently, how are people dealing with configuration files for
> their applications?  I'm finding configuration to be somewhat of a
> hassle, especially as I want the configuration to be independent of the
> particular web server integration model (i.e. adding a line to the .cgi
> script doesn't work if you want the same app to be available through
> mod_python, etc.).
>
> I'm thinking it would be nice if there were a single .ini file, with a
> [QUIXOTE] section which defines all of the things currently in the .conf
> file, as well as other sections for other parts of the complete system.
>
> Thoughts?
>
> --david

Hi David,

I've tried to develop a component/service approach. I separate out
database, app logic, app ui, and http services into parts, and pull them
together with a "service manager" that glues them all together at
startup time.

The various components are initialized and plugged into a global service
lookup namespace. So, the 'http' component can discover the 'publisher'
and 'application' components, and bind itself to them. Sequence of
initialization is important, so I specify it in the config file.

It's a bit young yet, but I like the approach. I've worked almost
exclusively with the Medusa publisher, but I don't see why this wouldn't
work for mod_python, scgi, etc. I'd share code if anyone wants it, with
a 'work-in-progress' caveat.

Here's one of my configuration files -- following the Quixote
convention, it's just a python module.

# test_config.py
server_name = 'Test Server'

database = {
     'name':             'windmill.services.database.ObjectDb',
     'storetype':        'ZODB.FileStorage.FileStorage',
     'storename':        'data/test.fs',
     'pack_on_start':    1,
}

application = {
     'name':     'test.application.Application',
     'dbkey':   'test',
}

publisher  = {
     'name':             'windmill.publish.Publisher',
     'ui':               'test.ui.application.ApplicationUI',
     'secure_errors':    0,
}

http = {
     'name':    'windmill.services.http.MedusaHandler',
     'host':     '',
     'port' :    8080,
}

sequence = ['database', 'application', 'publisher', 'http']

main_service = 'http'



-- Graham